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Hat

I’m trying to stat out the defenses for an Aztechnology black ops base. My current thinking is below and my questions at the end.

The main entrance is where they bring the vehicles in and is accessible through a ravine that ends in a box canyon. At two points there are chokepoints that would permit people or perhaps bikes to pass but nothing larger. In actuality those choke-points are carefully concealed gates. These are retractable sections of embankments allowing for larger vehicles to pass. There are pressure meshes in the area around each, covering an area a meter wide and the width of route. This is set back some 1000’ from the obstruction with sound sensors also present.. Anything over 200kg is going to trigger it. (Perception threshold 4 to spot).

The sound systems listen for a projected sound masked by the noise of known vehicles. Triggering the sound simply puts the base on alert. Failure to trigger the sound puts the base on high alert. Triggering the sound also opens the “gate� ahead with it being completely out of the way before the spot comes into view.

At 3 different points along the route are other sensor meshes with the same parameters as above. The second closes the first gate after the last detected vehicle moves through. The second pair does likewise with the second gate.

At the back of the box canyon are a pair of large concealed doors that swing in. The opening’s large enough for vehicles to enter and exit. A quickened force 12 mana barrier is just inside the false stone front of the door making the entrance both harder to spot even working astrally. A concealed access panel includes keypad and biometrics and is tamper protected.

The cave system leading back to the garage is perhaps 1 km in length. Presure meshes within the first tunnel will automatically close and secure the doors after the last identified vehicle has passed or 2 minutes after the lead vehicle has passed if the base is on high alert.

The Cave system includes swarms of Microskimmer III Drones (3 swarms, 30 per swarm), geared for anti-drone and anti-vehicular action. The IIIs are similar to the Microskimmer IIs in the Rigger 3 book, but the size of a small golf disk rather than garbage can lid. This is the smallest I can see being reasonable in 2061 based on Rigger 3. In the case of vehicles, the drones lock onto the target to help provide a targeting lock for the automated weapons (as if take aim 3). These drones have been programmed with a “repellent� frequency broadcast at a low signal ratio by incoming/outgoing vehicles. Under standard security protocols the “repellent� frequency is enough to move the base from high alert to alert and allow the vehicles to pass to the garage unmolested. This frequency is different than the one used to activate the gates. The expectation being that anyone who disabled the exterior defenses would have already compromised those frequencies and as such different ones are used inside. Swarms are in storage launch racks set in cracks in the wall providing a constant charge to them from base power.

Cavern 1 with Swarm 1 – tied to a 4 gun set (2 forward facing, 2 backwards facing into a cavern area/kill zone. The guns include 2 GE Vigilant Light Autocannons (Arsenal p124) with AV rounds (250 round supply each) in two concealed Heavy Turrets plus 2 concealed reinforced weapons mounts with Ingram White Knight LMGs. Also tied in are 4 GL-67 grenade launchers filled with thermal smoke rounds. Vigilants here are tied to the swarm frequencies and don’t reveal until part of the swarms lock on. White Knights focused on suppressive fire to give the swarm a chance to lock on. If the pressure mesh wasn’t triggered within the opening then the smoke and drone swarm won’t deploy and the guns will simply identify targets and open fire. All turrets are Armor 10. There are two fiber optic "eyes" here tied to mage goggles back in the security office. Under normal circumstances there would also be a pair of Force 6 earth elementals bound here.

Cavern 2, about the midpoint with Swarm 2 – tied to a 4 gun set (2 forward facing plus 1 each side into the kill zone) 2 GE Vigilant Light Autocannons with AV Rounds plus 2 Ultimax HMGs with APDS, plus 4 more grenade launchers, 2 thermal smoke, 2 white phosphorous. HMGs are targeted rather than suppressive fire. Vigilants still tied to swarm for targetting. Turrets are Armor 10. There are two fiber optic "eyes" here tied to mage goggles back in the security office. Under normal circumstances there would also be a pair of Force 7 earth elementals bound here.

Cavern 3 with Swarm 3 – tied to 4 gun set, external on rails. 2 Gauss rifles main cannons plus 2 GE Vigilant Light Autocannons all in Sentinel R series drones. Plus 4 more grenade launchers, 2 thermal smoke, 2 white phosphorous. Drone Armor to 10 and Turret Armor 10. Doors leading to the garage are heavily reinforced with an overlaid mana barrier. Concealed Access panel will provide door controls and allow access to the garage. There are two fiber optic "eyes" here tied to mage goggles back in the security office. Under normal circumstances there would also be a pair of Force 8 earth elementals bound here.

Above the entrance to the garage is a security office where a security rigger can control the various defenses. A door along the left wall upon entering provides access to a tunnel leading to the security office.

Within the garage are a number of vehicles as well as a number of drones to provide a last line of defense. The room is 60m by 60m. I was thinking 4 Steel Lynxes with LMGs and 8 Dobermans with Ares Alphas. The Grenade launchers are alternating thermal smoke and concussion. Jacking into the security console will provide control of the drones in the garage and any remaining defenses in the tunnel.

Current situation: The base is unmanned for at least this section of it. Automated defenses are the only
Several years ago a smuggler tripped across the main entrance and triggered the alarms. Without active personnel to clear the condition the base has been on high alert since. The drones have been plugged into the base power supply awaiting additional signals to switch over to self-power. The outer doors haven’t been opened which will send the units into action.

Question:
  1. What adjustments would you make to the security either to tone it down or ramp it up to be appropriate for a base of this nature?
  2. The base would have been in place in 2061 and so should reflect leading edge security from then. Nine years has passed since the defenses have been maintained, but had been freshly installed and well maintained til that point.
  3. My goal is to make it extremely difficult to get through the gauntlet and I really want to avoid a mage with physical mask providing invis for a rigger waltzing through this. I'd like the rigger to be helpful such as trying to relieve pressue on the rest of the team after the group gets attacked by the drones on the inside of the door from the tunnel.

Suggestions?

Thanks!

With a sweep of his...

Hat
kzt
Vehicle tire tracks that run into walls or under obstacles attract attention from casual passerbys. The moving walls stuff will telegraph this very early. Old run down buildings at an abandoned construction site, mine or something similar would seem like it might work better.

I don't see any reason to have the swarm bits. A senor array using visual/thermal and radar should suffice, with ultrasound for close in.

And you'll kill them dead as a doornail unless you cheat. With 12 dice before the mods for autofire it's going to hit and kill players at at least one per IP. The main defense a base like this has is not being found. Once it's found the thing to do would be either E&E out, or keeping the discovers from getting out while you trap and kill them. Which means before they actually find, much less open, the outer doors. So I'd also have their electronics jammed as they get close.
Hat
Makes sense. So what would you scale the defenses back to?

With a sweep of his...

Hat
vladski
A quick post to see if this is workign now.

Vlad
DocTaotsu
Kzt's got some excellent pointers up there. The batcave door is not exactly something that blends with the surroundings and hiding in plain sight is always a fairly solid plan.

I do however like the swarm bit, if only because the image of players/vehicles getting sticky tags of death amuses the hell out of me.

I might suggest you focus on a tierd level of response, as Kzt said the biggest concern of these places is not killing the shit out of runners, it's in not being discovered. I tend to think that black ops places are typically very mobile insofar as they're designed to be compromised at any moment and as such the security is supposed to stand up just long enough for the databases to get scrubbed and the demolitoin/gas/spray foam to arm. If it's a fairly built up base I'd expect a great deal more fixed emplacements over drones as they'd be cheaper to maintain and probably slightly harder to hack. Heck they could even be semi portable trashcans of death. If you're afraid of the improved invis rigger throw in some radar/ultrasound sensors that match against visual/thermal feeds and target anything that isn't showing up on all three displays.

Oh and flash paks, you can never have enough flash paks. If you want an extra bit of cool "Oh my god we are so boned" you can have a devices that ejects 20 of them into the room, skittering all over the place and causing the teams eyes to bleed.

How hard to make this is largely dependent on how much intel the players know. If they players have some idea what they're getting into I'd say go ahead and throw a few steal lynxs in there. If they're finding this place on accident or you might want to scale it back a little.
DocTaotsu
Kzt's got some excellent pointers up there. The batcave door is not exactly something that blends with the surroundings and hiding in plain sight is always a fairly solid plan.

I do however like the swarm bit, if only because the image of players/vehicles getting sticky tags of death amuses the hell out of me.

I might suggest you focus on a tierd level of response, as Kzt said the biggest concern of these places is not killing the shit out of runners, it's in not being discovered. I tend to think that black ops places are typically very mobile insofar as they're designed to be compromised at any moment and as such the security is supposed to stand up just long enough for the databases to get scrubbed and the demolitoin/gas/spray foam to arm. If it's a fairly built up base I'd expect a great deal more fixed emplacements over drones as they'd be cheaper to maintain and probably slightly harder to hack. Heck they could even be semi portable trashcans of death. If you're afraid of the improved invis rigger throw in some radar/ultrasound sensors that match against visual/thermal feeds and target anything that isn't showing up on all three displays.

Oh and flash paks, you can never have enough flash paks. If you want an extra bit of cool "Oh my god we are so boned" you can have a devices that ejects 20 of them into the room, skittering all over the place and causing the teams eyes to bleed.

How hard to make this is largely dependent on how much intel the players know. If they players have some idea what they're getting into I'd say go ahead and throw a few steal lynxs in there. If they're finding this place on accident or you might want to scale it back a little.
Strelkovaya
Hat: It seems that your defences are very AV, so if the runners get in they cant just hide in their vehicles. But if their scout stealths in, sees the big guns and reports to the team, how do they all stealth/semi-stealth/lumber into the facility? With the PC groups I run and run with I cant ever assume 100% stealthy PC's, it isnt always in char (or points are pumped to other stuff). Unless they come packing their own AV/Anti-Structure munitions they will get hosed, or simply abort. I recommend the addition of ducts, with anti-personnel defences. So they have to ditch and hide their transport, cannot take their big guns and then it is easier to challenge them inside the base with smaller drones. Also if the PC's have a rigger they can recon with their own drones, for Drone Wars.

What mage defences other than elementals? Those force 6 & 7's are quite high, I assume the Pc group is not just starting off.

This all relies on houserules for encumberance and weapon/equipment size being restricted. Both of which I recommend if the Pc's get a bit silly about waving Autocannons around in tight spaces. Trolls crawling through human sized spaces, etc.

What is the time limiting factor on this mission? If the base is on high alert what backup is going to be coming on sleek attack helicopter? Is there a rigger who will jackin to check on his facility?
If they have all year to finish the mish, they will just nibble away till it is done.

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